The group which claimed the first birth of a cloned human last week says a second such baby has now been born to a Dutch lesbian couple.

The baby girl and the mother are said to be well after the birth on Friday night.

I think it's entirely unacceptable for groups like Clonaid
to be gambling with the health of children

Dr Harry Griffin, creator of Dolly the sheep

Chief executive of the US-based Clonaid organisation Brigitte Boisselier told the French news agency AFP the child weighed 2.7 kilograms (six pounds), but would not specify in which country the birth had taken place.

Sceptical international scientists are still awaiting DNA proof that the first baby - a girl named Eve - is indeed an exact genetic match of her 31-year-old American mother.

DNA tests that were to be carried out on that child were cancelled after the parents asked for a delay, reportedly through fears the process could reveal their identity or be used to remove the baby from their care.

Clonaid's claims have brought condemnation from religious leaders and led to renewed calls for human cloning to be banned.

Clonaid was set up by the Raelian religious sect, which believes aliens created mankind.

The organisation says it is expecting a total of five cloned babies it has created.

'Just for publicity'

The scientific community is sceptical of the group's claims.

Dr Harry Griffin, head of Britain's Roslin Institute which
cloned the first adult mammal, Dolly the sheep, told Reuters news agency "there is no reason to believe this is
anything other than a long drawn-out publicity stunt".

The Raelians believe humans were cloned by aliens

But he also said that if cloned babies had been produced, further experiments
should be stopped.

"I think it's entirely unacceptable for groups like Clonaid
to be gambling with the health of children," he said.